Book One: The Boy

by Paul Sterman

What is to become of George Beale?It is the year 1734 and at six years old, there is no place for him on his grandfather’s herring boat. He so wants to take his place and show the world he is grown up but he has to be content with clearing away the fish offal from the filleting tubs to feed the pig and doing all the other stinking, messy jobs that are the lot of the youngsters in the North Yorkshire village.The harvests are not always bountiful and, after a few years when the herring don’t come and foraging for wild food becomes the norm, George perceives himself to be a failure and a burden on his family.Circumstances lead him to take a fateful decision. He leaves the village, his family and the girl with whom he imagines himself to be in love.At ten years old, destiny delivers him to the Navy of King George II and the cramped world of so much diverse humanity. He must shed the erstwhile, austere security of the narrow life in the fishing village for the contradictorily confined life aboard a ship of war within the horizon-wide vistas of the open sea.George must mature quickly as he advances and proves his worth in the tight-knit fighting crew facing corsairs, privateers and the full scale fleet battle of Toulon in 1744.In his various ships he develops his sea-faring skills while finding companionship, adventure, and extreme danger . . . until . . .

308 pages, Paperback

Published November 27, 2016

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